Commitment 3

Conducting a playspace audit. Community groups can learn more about the number, quality and location of playspaces in their cities and towns by conducting playspace audits. This research will give you concrete data that will not only highlight the gaps in quality and access but provide an effective tool for identifying specific community needs. It can also be used for measuring success and is an excellent document to support your advocacy efforts within local government A variety of methods are being used across the country to gather this information including:

• The president of New York City Park Advocates personally visited each of the city's 997 playgrounds during a four-year audit project, demonstrating the power of one. Through photographs and a soon-to-be released report, the organization documented hundreds of images of poorly-maintained playgrounds, equipment that would fail the most cursory safety inspection, and other signs that the city has walked away from its duties to care for playspaces, especially in low-income communities.
  
  
• On Feb. 11, 2006, the Neighborhood Parks Council, a San Francisco nonprofit organization that serves as an umbrella organization for more than 120 neighborhood park groups, conducted a citywide playspace audit. More than 150 volunteers divided the city into four quadrants and used a survey tool to assess the safety and quality of the city's playgrounds. Some of the issues they looked at were posted park rules; adequate paint on wooden play structures to cover arsenic; condition of play equipment, including rust, corrosion and splinters; secure S-hooks; and sufficient lighting.
  
  
  The Neighborhood Parks Council then issued a Playground Report Card to serve as a baseline for the status of San Franciscos playgrounds and provide information to help the Recreation and Parks Department direct its limited resources. Just over half of San Francisco's playgrounds received a grade of an A or a B. Twenty-seven of 144 surveyed parks received Ds or Fs. Continuing advocacy with the parks department is aimed at getting all of San Francisco's parks up to at least a C level by next year.
  
  
• The Junior League of Raleigh, with the support of additional volunteers, drove around to playgrounds and looked at the quality of different spaces. They noticed that the playspace behind the city's public housing was in need of repair. Ready to rally, the Junior League got design assistance from North Carolina State University's Natural Learning Initiative, a program that focuses on designing playspaces that encourage children to be outdoors and uses the natural features of the land to create playspaces. Working with the community, they helped refurbish the playground with a fort, tree house, log cabin, a preschool area, paved bike paths, vegetable gardens, benches and other equipment to stimulate children's imaginations.
  
  
• Friends of the Parks in Chicago and the Injury Free Coalition for Kids at Children's Memorial Hospital help organize playspace audits to create higher visibility for the safety and quality of the city's playgrounds. Working with parents, neighbors and park advocates, they document the conditions of playgrounds throughout Chicago and advocate for change to create safer and higher-quality play environments. See their checklist.